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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1905)
!THE 'OREGOPTSlinDAY, JOURNAL, PORTLAND, Mil ),.,.., i,yW, . I M j 1 sin rflrS 0 v OV , cnmsnr (CFncniLiziD : ;t, v. . J vrv-iw r wHt v; Wi&&l2g - J&EzS ? 1 t O INTENSELY interested inland, in- aeea, concerned aoqui, ine, once .ae- : spued but' now rare, and precious - dia-: mond back terrapin is' Uncle Sam that he. has ,. issued from his printing office, in Washington ; s biography - of that , little creature, telling - :' ithere and how he liver, all about his woes, ,' , ". together with pictures of him in'color dlmbst , lifesize. 'rrb-iu 7' " " In order that no detail might, escape himh " the author of this biography, WjUiam .Perry 7 Hoy, professor of natural history at Howard . : University working under, the . direction ? TT r v tide Sam'ts 'Bureau of : Fisheries, .'devoted several entire summers' to investigation and experiments f-i r.7?.TOTmtmni. Ai vi--'1- Not only didProfessor Hay photograph the diamond back from the cradle to the ' ' gfext, but he had an artist make careful note ofievery tint upon him, with all the variationi due to the different 'localities 'in which he ll makes his residence :-4t--.. "Thanks to lax laws and ruthless Tiunf- ers: the professor asserts, "the stecies ts on the verge qf extinction; and before lonr. un. ' " proper measures are thick f 'must be tiunu iered among the great hott of animals man . lias exterminated:' 'J'.7' .. 1 ;, :r." ! I T IS told of John M. Clayton,' once Secretary' of BUte and negotiator . of the ; Clayton-Bulwer .'. ' : treaty, that ho . waa . ao iond .of: diamond' back ' '' terrapin that ha wed to buy them by the ox-cart'. " load and have them ahoveled into the cellar of Jiia home near Dotct, Delaware, like ao much ooal,'ohly . v they were not ao expenaiye.Ue usually paid $2 per . " cartload. Hia f ocdnesa for terrapin waa ao peculiar-' -that for many-yeartf it waa handed down aa a trav ' Bition. E?en alavea refused to cat them; at timea. .;';". In thoM daya, back of the fiftiea, a boat load of ! ' tiiamond backa mieht be gathered 'in lesa, than a,'. , day. Xow they are. ao acarce,' and are' regarded aa :'y.: ucn a delicacy, that they command anywhere from $60 to $120 a dona. A hunter who finds one or two' in a day ia doing 'welL'" "r7r?.'.-' r'r-T'T, !, Inring the eightiea, when it waa found difficult' to aeenre aufficient terrapm. to' iupply, the demand In the winter tiuie, firms dealing in. them adopted ' the idea of obtaining all they eould in! "the summer and impounding t!iem. This idea is still in 'practice.. : -At-tne prcscnrrimeVthcre are a number-of 111 ? . M-im .. .... .1.- r. :-; - v -v.;- . 1 a,....,., ,-:v-v-,,: liiR5ilSi l ira iM ...V;'? SzV:v ; I 1 1. -W as to color and formation of their own,with numer ! oua variations even of themaelves. ... ' . , Tn a number of waya, however,.all..diamond back terrapin-are, -alikja.Y A-lady-4 diamond! back a much bigger than a gentleman diamond back., The biggest of these never, grows to be more than nine - inches long, and unlike; their giant ; great-great .cousin irom ue uaiapagi to be very. 'old. A ' 'Every; diamond back begins life at' a disadvan- ', . tager-it never, knows- the tender care of a doting jpressly forbidden. As he seldom grows to be mora than five inches long, burners do not boiher with) him. Only his unfortunate, wif o is taken. Of Qeor gia and Louisiana ' terrapins PrvJosior Hay hai never seen a perfect male specimen. . , . ; i On . the other hand, the male surely ia hen pecked, for not being so tig as his wife she Is able to impoae upon him. ' ' t : ; ' ;'. . Notwithstanding all of his .troubles, the dia- mond back seldom, if ever, provided ha is able td help himself, wanders far from the old home. . . ; "Although i; is a common belief in many plaoea where this turtle is-found that it is nomadic, mor- , Jrig restlessly f re m place to place,-and Ihat it itf- able to make considerable journeys, there is no evi ' -denee to support these notionss Professor Hay, .tells us. 'J . " " ' ' ' ; ' , . . ' "On the contrary, the individual born in or ao 'eidehtally transported to a favorable locality, prob .ably. atays there indefinitely; no other theory will .explain the numerous local races and the' reappear "ance of - certain . marked terrapins,, season after season.' ' Recover From Injuries ' ' ' From the appearance of, many diamond backa seen by Professor Hay,' one would judge that their early :days , were strenuousT Their ;power of recu lakpakos.Islandlthcydonotliveyrot i$ -j. ..' . . '.marvelous... . .v y .. -!(., diamond back at 30 is a veritable T ' ' ' i 'n A " - - i... " - : 'In. any . lare . collection of .terrapin," wnte - - I " 44MiWOi -V houses alopg.the coast in which from twenty-five to five hundred tcrratjln rrt nt in - earth for months at a time without feeding.. ' A Curious DisDosiHon In spite of hia ungainly appcaranco and em.' !ngly sluggish mind the' terrapin is of a most curi ous disposition. When the owner of a pound such mm menuoneu nere . wisues to exhibit his wares he aimply pounds with a stick upon a box in the nei borhood of the straw "or earth heap, , In a few seconds there is a scrambling, and put crawls .terrapin after terrapin anxious to see what the row is all about'.V-,,; -. ' , This eufiosUy on the part e the diamond back is frequently 'the ca'useof 'Lis", original'doJnfalL' The ordinary, method of catching him is to wade along the edge of a salt water marsh and poke' in' the mud with a stick. .When 'anything hard' a touched it is usually afCTrjipin.,'; Some' hunters, nowrver, siropiy pound on the gunwale of the skiff as they paddle along the marsh; .the, 'noise luring their quarry, to the aucface upon a tour of inreatigation.' ' ..."? : -., ' - . .: . . . SlZe TAHA . U .r advantage of containing diving instead of dead : months.' i professor IIay,;"it is' easy to find individuals tha have lost a foot. Occasionally, Both the feet on one ; side -or both feet of one tAir. will bV missing, and '..; l:' Lr- : J; ... ;' . ,", .'. '.mother. In May or' June shTdigs aTiole i ina-convl saw-oneUndividual jniWh,ichlUfplureetre) v - coDections of diamond back terrapin-which' are un-; -i lenient , bank aong; the,' water, puts ; from 'five .to i gorie.j ,V 'j , .1' 1 ' ' 'i ''.' T J. " . ' - .1 urpassed in any museum, and.wlich have the added twejve' eggs in it,, covers them ;np and shiftlessly . "After suchn injury the stxunp, usually heal goes away;; If the, weather is -warm the eggs may 'or smoothlybutVoccasionalry irregular, growthai hatch in six weeks; if it is cold they hatch in three;- not at all like the original member appear, and th result may be a curiously branched, stumpy termi nation. . I have never seen a'specimen which showed even an approximately perfect regeneration of any, lost; part, ' 'Injuries'. to the body, unless. too severe, " are often survived. r One' individual I observed ia j a pound at Grisfield, ifd., had lost! one-third of the ' 'posterior half of its body, including its left hind leg. ' The. wound' which must: have , exposed the body : cavity, had healed, and the. animal, was" apparently . nonelhe worse ior the injury," . . V- In all the. diamond back terrapins he has meas- specimens. Although lo, the inexpert eye all diamond backs " f, . I'. ',:l',. look.aliSeVt'Md'indeed the layman is frequently do--vC-v. ;.i . cerved into bnvinsf mud turtles' oi bMiIa' t ar thpfn. ' in good condition. .TLey readily become acoustomed 'it' is astonishing how many distinct Varieties there to man; andlnra ew days after capture respond to. reanv- are. -Each tlace secma-to' have, a diamond gh-' callint aomiD.time eat fish crops or shrimp out of .' back' differing in size and color and. shape of the ,, nana. ,- ,., ;.v;..,i : :,. . . . ; Law Protects Little : FellbwA 'JWhen a diamond back1 first sees the light of ;' summer's morning he 'is about an inch, long. Even at that he seems able to take care of himself. lie catches insects and eats them. ; Also 'her develops a shell scales 'from' any other. For instance, the dia- In the course -of his investLation.'.Professor mond- back found in '. the Ghesaneake' ia verv darfc ' tooth' for ; tender shoots and rootlet" 'of ; marafc , IIy doy6ted himself largefy to the Chesapeake Bay : v and frequontlywithout colPr markings of any kind." plants.. Heroes not,' however,' tarry long around audita tributary rivers, where the most delicate'of; 'ills brpth"er,of precisely the ame species,' but who ;the surface. Boon after being hatched .he paddles to diamond backs take v up their ' T-idence, although, j lives in -Conneeticut . or, in- the .Delaware Bay, . ia t ) the nearest marsh iand digs a hole for himself , and ' omers only a bbadejless deleotabie are lound along the Aew England coast,, the Carolinas, and indeed 'all)'the way around-to Texas.' , Whet.' caught, h ever,' the. latter are. frequently sent to the'Chcsa peaKO to latten up and attain the ncheat flavor,.so could hardly" bve descended from the same dia-he is five inches long. , This is-aa big as some terra- is possible that the turtles live for many years after the Professor, was able to make a careful Study of ' mnnd bank Adam. -Thn r baAirpolind nl bin irmnr ia I Tin iret. UarticnlaHvl if thfT tnt rtinriirt' nr attainincF i-aw, Knt irx 41.:. ...n4. .1 1J , , , - , " . j . " - --- - - . a , w - v . - - -. , v. , . u V . . b . U . WWW M VM.W V , v. . nv liluiliU nenr-alSO. 1 1 ' '. '.. 1 . '' ' ' ' ,i ,' g- rfpnTrtilTrn Moplr.-tmtTlpllWhrfTHtjWtaAKi. 'rv t'.r-r.'A 4h. T.1a(4. A V .lH r w, , - ' " m...u.w v. , l tr , ' . - , ..... . v . .w tuc ytn Vi UI9 D1JCAA . WUfU per TJ - '-iiJ ' '.' i. . . if-' il ii .-Lit.':. ; 1 ' ' ' l.ilTt- ;t :-:--?;' --.. i. . . juuiui.jcur mo tiruwiu j vcrj siuw.-.f.acn winter, . lecuy, smootn, a conauion a nave, never observed' however, he does riot forget to' burrowinto the mud in- any species," except the Texas terrapin, which, and snooze until spring. As he'growa olderalso," he probably as a resiilt of the waTner or'more unjfona: " Very- light Tin -color; with .conspicuous concentric there he spends his first winter and sometimes part '. ured,- Professor Hay never, came across' one of a i markings' and. very smooth shells. u T ' .. . ,' , " ' . '; of his second summer.' When ho emerges he is twice . greater length thannine inches, and verv few lonmi ow- t, t , . Tn Florida resides-a terraDin so entirelv.dis-' . 'as.bitr as he was when Le went in .n. nrovicforf n"- thAn iclit. , T!vn tlii lpno-th i tt-nA AM- t J'tihet'. in'color 'from, the 'one in "the North that'he livesi-he keens on firrowina? an inch" everv vear iintil the'ac-n bf IS or 20 veara. - "Of .conr.w b : - v -irobnbly the greatest market for diamond back- ."ii aconipicuous.oranire yellow soot: moreover, bis terrapin in the world is at Crisfield, on the Eastern head and neck are of a peculiar whitish flesh color.' Although nounda in wb ,h t.W.nU'1 .VAVml.- -"".7,ana- AVvnsnew.aw at &oioraou'a; v the Jips and; the top of .the head white, his legs and .j . j ' .' . . V.v- ',iana' ""town near the mouth of tho.PatuxcnttaetlijrKtvili tored away and permittod to -.remain uAfed until' p T m ? u.rata3i eetliglit-irrayub.creeii:wit man tmU peckt-,of '. eata'craba-and oysters.. , N. - ,, ; climate, seems to grow more, continuously than iu they are needed fcr roasting or the pot are injuri- -tmS '' ii ' "' ' :.:'i:-:-':l!li5' lucky ' relatives.-1 am,, therefore, led believe that from Jr. it ia practicable to ken them, ru... v " ; . xuo varouna Dromer ano me Drotners iron tur in one particular, in several otates thesaleot 2 to-25 years is the average duation of lif for .JL.. . - .7ff .tt.,;::.. .wveUenbrouttogetLesexai; lhoturUel f tbia genus - -. - - pua to their' flay ,frf rfTi A.yn. Uen brought toge.:ei;iuifiian?ftod fjoorgi-, all Mia j&uluxities toerrapia leaa ihanWcr'si ,;;---,ir--: .-. ';v,-'- ; .,. . ;',;v 'c ' ,. . . ? ' i.,'" i 'l'.'":.r,-".''.:':,:. .': - -:jr.j' ' ri"srj- Tiv-.
